Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
Leadership & Managing People
Strategy / MBA Resources
Case Study SWOT Analysis Solution
Case Study Description of Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business
In May 2010, Forbes Technosys Limited (FTL) was not doing well. After more than a year, the company's bill payment kiosk business was losing money and no longer seemed viable. The time had come to re-evaluate all aspects of this business line and make decisions regarding FTL's future course of action. Accordingly, FTL's chief executive officer proposed an idea regarding prepaid mobile recharges using the existing bill payment kiosks, along with a new technology platform for this purpose. He hoped that handheld terminals could be used by retail-level franchisees to sell recharges to prepaid mobile users. Essentially, FTL had three options: should the company persist with or pivot the service provider business model, or "perish" the complete solution provider idea entirely and revert to being a product manufacturer? Whichever strategy FTL chose, it would have to limit and balance both operating and capital expenses. Davinder Singh is affiliated with Management Development Institute.
Swot Analysis of "Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business" written by Davinder Singh, Anuj Sahu includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Ftl Ftl's facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, and Leadership & Managing People.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business casestudy better are - – central banks are concerned over increasing inflation, increasing energy prices, increasing commodity prices, talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, challanges to central banks by blockchain based private currencies, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies,
supply chains are disrupted by pandemic , increasing inequality as vast percentage of new income is going to the top 1%, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Ftl Ftl's, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Ftl Ftl's operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Ftl Ftl's
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Leadership & Managing People field.
4. Making a Leadership & Managing People topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Ftl Ftl's
Strengths Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Ftl Ftl's in Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business Harvard Business Review case study are -
Cross disciplinary teams
– Horizontal connected teams at the Ftl Ftl's are driving operational speed, building greater agility, and keeping the organization nimble to compete with new competitors. It helps are organization to ideate new ideas, and execute them swiftly in the marketplace.
Analytics focus
– Ftl Ftl's is putting a lot of focus on utilizing the power of analytics in business decision making. This has put it among the leading players in the industry. The technology infrastructure suggested by Davinder Singh, Anuj Sahu can also help it to harness the power of analytics for – marketing optimization, demand forecasting, customer relationship management, inventory management, information sharing across the value chain etc.
Low bargaining power of suppliers
– Suppliers of Ftl Ftl's in the sector have low bargaining power. Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business has further diversified its suppliers portfolio by building a robust supply chain across various countries. This helps Ftl Ftl's to manage not only supply disruptions but also source products at highly competitive prices.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Ftl Ftl's has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Ftl Ftl's has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Ability to lead change in Leadership & Managing People field
– Ftl Ftl's is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Ftl Ftl's in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Training and development
– Ftl Ftl's has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
Learning organization
- Ftl Ftl's is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Ftl Ftl's is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Successful track record of launching new products
– Ftl Ftl's has launched numerous new products in last few years, keeping in mind evolving customer preferences and competitive pressures. Ftl Ftl's has effective processes in place that helps in exploring new product needs, doing quick pilot testing, and then launching the products quickly using its extensive distribution network.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Ftl Ftl's has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Ftl Ftl's has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Ftl Ftl's to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Diverse revenue streams
– Ftl Ftl's is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Weaknesses Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business are -
Increasing silos among functional specialists
– The organizational structure of Ftl Ftl's is dominated by functional specialists. It is not different from other players in the Leadership & Managing People segment. Ftl Ftl's needs to de-silo the office environment to harness the true potential of its workforce. Secondly the de-silo will also help Ftl Ftl's to focus more on services rather than just following the product oriented approach.
High bargaining power of channel partners
– Because of the regulatory requirements, Davinder Singh, Anuj Sahu suggests that, Ftl Ftl's is facing high bargaining power of the channel partners. So far it has not able to streamline the operations to reduce the bargaining power of the value chain partners in the industry.
Workers concerns about automation
– As automation is fast increasing in the segment, Ftl Ftl's needs to come up with a strategy to reduce the workers concern regarding automation. Without a clear strategy, it could lead to disruption and uncertainty within the organization.
Compensation and incentives
– The revenue per employee as mentioned in the HBR case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business, is just above the industry average. Ftl Ftl's needs to redesign the compensation structure and incentives to increase the revenue per employees. Some of the steps that it can take are – hiring more specialists on project basis, etc.
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business, it seems that the employees of Ftl Ftl's don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
Interest costs
– Compare to the competition, Ftl Ftl's has borrowed money from the capital market at higher rates. It needs to restructure the interest payment and costs so that it can compete better and improve profitability.
High dependence on existing supply chain
– The disruption in the global supply chains because of the Covid-19 pandemic and blockage of the Suez Canal illustrated the fragile nature of Ftl Ftl's supply chain. Even after few cautionary changes mentioned in the HBR case study - Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business, it is still heavily dependent upon the existing supply chain. The existing supply chain though brings in cost efficiencies but it has left Ftl Ftl's vulnerable to further global disruptions in South East Asia.
Products dominated business model
– Even though Ftl Ftl's has some of the most successful products in the industry, this business model has made each new product launch extremely critical for continuous financial growth of the organization. firm in the HBR case study - Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business should strive to include more intangible value offerings along with its core products and services.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Ftl Ftl's is planning to shift buying processes online.
Capital Spending Reduction
– Even during the low interest decade, Ftl Ftl's has not been able to do capital spending to the tune of the competition. This has resulted into fewer innovations and company facing stiff competition from both existing competitors and new entrants who are disrupting the industry using digital technology.
Ability to respond to the competition
– As the decision making is very deliberative, highlighted in the case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business, in the dynamic environment Ftl Ftl's has struggled to respond to the nimble upstart competition. Ftl Ftl's has reasonably good record with similar level competitors but it has struggled with new entrants taking away niches of its business.
Opportunities Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business are -
Use of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies for transactions
– The popularity of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies as asset class and medium of transaction has opened new opportunities for Ftl Ftl's in the consumer business. Now Ftl Ftl's can target international markets with far fewer capital restrictions requirements than the existing system.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Ftl Ftl's can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Ftl Ftl's to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Ftl Ftl's to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Leadership & Managing People industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Ftl Ftl's can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Ftl Ftl's can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Ftl Ftl's can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Finding new ways to collaborate
– Covid-19 has not only transformed business models of companies in Leadership & Managing People industry, but it has also influenced the consumer preferences. Ftl Ftl's can tie-up with other value chain partners to explore new opportunities regarding meeting customer demands and building a rewarding and engaging relationship.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Ftl Ftl's in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Leadership & Managing People segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Manufacturing automation
– Ftl Ftl's can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Leadership & Managing People segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Harnessing reconfiguration of the global supply chains
– As the trade war between US and China heats up in the coming years, Ftl Ftl's can build a diversified supply chain model across various countries in - South East Asia, India, and other parts of the world. This reconfiguration of global supply chain can help, as suggested in case study, Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business, to buy more products closer to the markets, and it can leverage its size and influence to get better deal from the local markets.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Ftl Ftl's has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Ftl Ftl's to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business case study. Ftl Ftl's can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Ftl Ftl's can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Increase in government spending
– As the United States and other governments are increasing social spending and infrastructure spending to build economies post Covid-19, Ftl Ftl's can use these opportunities to build new business models that can help the communities that Ftl Ftl's operates in. Secondly it can use opportunities from government spending in Leadership & Managing People sector.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Ftl Ftl's to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Threats Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business are -
Easy access to finance
– Easy access to finance in Leadership & Managing People field will also reduce the barriers to entry in the industry, thus putting downward pressure on the prices because of increasing competition. Ftl Ftl's can utilize it by borrowing at lower rates and invest it into research and development, capital expenditure to fortify its core competitive advantage.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business, Ftl Ftl's may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Leadership & Managing People .
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Ftl Ftl's.
Regulatory challenges
– Ftl Ftl's needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Leadership & Managing People industry regulations.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Ftl Ftl's in the Leadership & Managing People sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
High level of anxiety and lack of motivation
– the Great Resignation in United States is the sign of broader dissatisfaction among the workforce in United States. Ftl Ftl's needs to understand the core reasons impacting the Leadership & Managing People industry. This will help it in building a better workplace.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Ftl Ftl's business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Ftl Ftl's can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business .
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Ftl Ftl's will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Environmental challenges
– Ftl Ftl's needs to have a robust strategy against the disruptions arising from climate change and energy requirements. EU has identified it as key priority area and spending 30% of its 880 billion Euros European post Covid-19 recovery funds on green technology. Ftl Ftl's can take advantage of this fund but it will also bring new competitors in the Leadership & Managing People industry.
Increasing wage structure of Ftl Ftl's
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Ftl Ftl's.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Ftl Ftl's is facing in Leadership & Managing People sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Forbes Technosys Limited (A): Bill Payment Kiosk Business is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Ftl Ftl's needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
